Dorrington’s England Counties debut to remember

Carnforth’s Jordan Dorrington could scarcely contain himself after an eye-catching cameo performance on his home ground in England Counties’ 37-3 rout of a Scotland Clubs XV.

The 21-year-old former Vale of Lune back, now with Fylde, made his debut off the bench with five minutes left and scored the final try to roars of approval from the Fylde fans and an enthusiastic party of pupils from his former school, Lancaster Royal Grammar School.

“It’s a massive dream come true,” he said after posing for pictures with the schoolboys and the man who used to be his teacher and is now a colleague for both Fylde and the Counties, Evan Stewart, the current LRGS first XV coach.

“It was a great five minutes. I am shocked. I wondered if I was dreaming.

“You couldn’t have written it, could you?

“I feel a bit of a famous person now.”

And looking forward to the Counties’ next game – against France in Perigeux on March 20 – Dorrington, who has played for Lancashire at all age groups, said: “I definitely want more of it.”

Equally happy was Stewart, the Fylde skipper, despite coming off following a bang on the knee.

“It was a top game,” said the 28-year-old back-row forward, who scored the Counties’ second try from close range on what was his debut, too, for the representative side which is drawn from the English National Leagues.

“It was nice to see Jordan score – that was really special.”

The Vale of Lune’s Sally Stott played at number eight in England Women’s Under 20s 25-0 defeat to France in Bordeaux on Saturday. The number eight secured her place in the side earlier in the month as England beat an Army side 25-10.